Who uses indexes and abstracts?

Indexes are inherently useful for anybody seeking information, not just librarians. Since they group information according to key words or descriptors and not just by title and author, people can use these indexing terms to locate items that might be useful to them. However, the existence of a key word in an index doesn’t guarantee that the item will be what the information seeker is looking for. Since the abstract is an objective and brief summary of an item’s content, it will help users decide if the item is relevant to their needs.

Indexes and abstracts are useful for students.

For example, say a student needs to answer a specific question about an emergency medical response. A book might provide information in too much detail for the student’s need. If the student did a search for articles in medical journals, the abstract would provide just enough information to prompt the student to reject or read the article. If the student looked in a reference book at the library, an index in a medical reference book would point out where the information is located in the book. Since the reference book is providing condensed information, this might be just the right amount of information for the student.

Indexes and abstracts are useful for reference librarians.

A reference librarian can use indexes and abstracts to help answer a patron’s questions about specific or broad subjects. Perhaps a patron wants to find out more about California history. A reference interview might reveal that the patron is especially interested in large cities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles. An index in a reference book about California history could further break this down into categories such as 1906 Earthquake, Gold Rush or film industry. Searching databases in the same manner will reveal different articles about broad or specific articles. The abstract will reveal key indexing terms of the article so the patron can decide whether or not to spend time retrieving and reading the article

Indexes and abstracts are useful for the average library user.

A patron might want to read poems by a certain poet. Many libraries have research pages to facilitate research. For example, the Sonoma County Library offers Granger’s Poetry Index to library card holders. Once the library card number is entered, patrons can search by author or title. Then, the sources where the poem can be found appears.

Perhaps the patron wants to read books or articles about a specific poet. An abstract will provide details such as if the item is about the family of the poet, or the travels, or specific works, a certain period in the poet’s life, etc.

Indexes and abstracts are useful for professionals.

A journalist might be researching a person before conducting an interview. A doctor might be searching medical journals for a specific condition. A business owner might be considering moving to another city and wants to read newspapers local to the area. In all these cases, indexes and abstracts will help users sort through information to find what they are looking for.

How to Use Indexes & Abstracts

There are many common-use indexes and abstracts. Some of them are: Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature, New York Times Index, Book Review Index, Education Index, General Science Index, Social Sciences & Humanities Index, Biological Abstracts, and Criminal Justice Abstracts. Most of them are very useful tools.


I will use the Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature as an example to show you how to use indexes since it is very popular.

In-Print Version:

The Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature is an index to popular periodicals (magazines or scholarly journals) published in the U.S. and Canada. Its entries are organized by either subject headings or authors.

Based on the information provided by the J. Murrey Atkins Library of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, it includes "current events and news, fine arts, fashion, education, business, sports, health and nutrition, consumer affairs, and others. It is useful for tracking down primary source materials from the late 19th and entire 20th centuries" (http://library.uncc.edu/knowledgebase/question.php?q=246&dept=library).

According to the Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Readers%27_Guide_to_Periodical_Literature), the "Readers' Guide has been published regularly since 1901 by the H. W. Wilson Company, and is a staple of public and academic reference libraries throughout the United States; a retrospective index of general periodicals published from 1890 to 1900 is also available.

Originally, The Readers' Guide was published on a biweekly basis, with later issues incorporating the previous content in larger copies until the index for the entire year was published."


Readers' Guide is arranged alphabetically either by subject headings or authors.

And, subject headings are always in BOLD UPPERCASE type. In this example, the subject heading is ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. Entries for articles which have been published in magazine or journals are located beneath the subject heading (http://www.dowling.edu/library/images/readersguide.pdf).

Abreviations are used in entries. "All abreviations are listed in the front of the Reader's Guide books" (http://www.esc.edu/esconline/across_esc/writerscomplex.nsf/0/B820F55F68A8843C852569FA006B0389?opendocument).

The printed version does not provide the content (full-text) of the articles. Its user needs to look for the articles himself.



Online Version:



The H. W. Wilson Company
provides online version of the
Readers' Guide and enhanced it with "searchable full text of articles from some 215 journals as far back as 1994". The online version also contains "high quality indexing of over 400 periodicals as far back as 1983" and "in-depth abstracts written by professionals". (http://www.hwwilson.com/databases/readersg.htm).


Graphical content are also available for some articles. In addition, an additional database "Readers' Guide Retrospective: 1890 -1982" is also available.


The following shows you how to use the online version. Since the database (indexes, abstracts, and full text) is not a free resource. You need to use the SJSU library (http://www.sjlibrary.org/research/databases/index.htm) as a path to have the access. There are two steps: login and search.

1. Video Clip: Login to the SJSU King Library




2. Video Clip: Do the search

Why are indexes and abstracts so useful?

1. Indexes allow for specificity without being too narrow. Searches can be limited to certain authors, subjects, or even forms (i.e. academic journals, dissertations, essays, etc.)

2. Using indexes and abstracts also saves time by weeding out large amounts of unrelated sources.

3. Older information is more likely to be found, since indexes and abstracts had been around for many decades prior to the internet.

4. Some indexes (i.e. citation indexes) allow for cross-referencing between items. This can lead to a chain of relevant sources, stemming from the first that was found.

5. Indexes and abstracts in their electronic forms support the idea of libraries without walls. A citation can be found in a local index, but the article may then be accessed electronically from another source altogether.

6. Both indexes and abstracts are generally reliable, because they are created by humans for humans. They tend to use human language and controlled vocabulary.*

*A Caveat: This final reason is also why extra scrutiny must be paid. The accuracy falls prey to human error (as many abstracts are written by the authors of the articles) and a controlled vocabulary used for one index may not be at all similar to that of another. Since indexing is done by people as well, it is a costly (and timely) process; therefore, accessibility to indexes is often dependent on the budget of the reference service.

When should you use Indexes and/or Abstracts?

Because you cannot read every book, periodical, and article...



Indexes and Abstracts are very helpful because they enable users to quickly search the material and determine if the material:

• Covers the relevant topic area. For example: you are writing a research paper on the Harlem Renaissance, you could search the Black Thought and Culture Index, which is organized by subject.
• Covers the time frame needed. For example, you are interested in reading dissertations produced before the 20th century... you could use Index to Theses, which contains abstracts for theses accepted for higher degrees by the universities of Great Britain and Ireland since 1716.
• Provides the necessary depth… ABSTRACTS in particular enable a quick scan. Of course we all read the fascinating library school articles, especially those about Reference, but in case we are running short on time, Abstracts are an invaluable resource.
• Provides the necessary perspective(s)… are you looking for academic materials? Or are you searching for a more popular perspective? Perhaps you want a literary review? There are different tools that identify and represent these different perspectives.
  • Examples: JSTOR, Expanded Academic, Pub Med

INDEXES and ABSTRACTS can be referenced at any time. In fact, good research require ongoing engagement with materials. Instead of Google or Wikipedia, try a more reliable source with “added value.” Indexes and Abstracts are created by librarians so they carry extra authority.

At the beginning stages of research, these resource tools can help set the parameters of investigation and of what is possible.

** Get a sneak peek without full feature: Review Indexes
** Build a bibliography: Citations Indexes

At the middle of a research paper, they can help expand the bibliography, enable refining of the original research question, and help survey materials the user does not have time to read.

**For Library 200 research project, turn to: Library, Information Sciences & Technology Abstracts with Full Text (LIST)

At the end of an investigation, indexes and abstracts can let the user see future directions and unsolved problems.

Indexes and Abstracts: What and Where?

(Example of a citation)

What?

"What are indexes and abstracts?"

Indexes...

Indexes point the user to articles in periodicals such as magazines, newspapers, trade publications and journals, as well as to books, pamphlets, conference proceedings and other sources. Indexes supply the user with citations for articles. The typical index citation includes author, title of article, title of journal/magazine, volume, date published and pages. Using this citation, the user can then locate the desired article in either the library collection or its electronic database.

Indexes cover different kinds of subject areas:

General subjects: These databases cover a variety of subjects: ABI/INFORM Global, Academic Search Primer, Alt-Press Watch, Expanded Academic ASAP, Readers Guide, Wilson Omni, Project Muse.
Specific subjects: These cover specific subjects such as science, music, or the humanities: Black Thought and Culture, Music Index Online, Pubmed, Library Literature & Information Science, Library Literature and Information Science Retrospective, Rand California, Social Sciences Full Text, GreenFile.
Newspapers: These indexes point to newspaper articles: Pro-Quest Historical Newspapers, Pro-Quest Newsstand, Ethnic NewsWatch, InfoTrac Custom Newspapers, San Jose Mercury News.
Citation: Citation indexes are invaluable to research, as they answer the questions “Who has cited my article?” and “Who has my article cited?”. These indexes show how frequently an article has been cited in subsequent articles, linking articles with common topics. Web of Science is an example of a citation index.

Special materials: These indexes are targeted at such materials as maps, pamphlets, dissertations, and so on: Pro-Quest Dissertations, Theses Full-text (which goes back to 1861!).

Literary: Literary indexes point to literature: Literature Resource Center, LitFinder, Shakespeare Collection.
Reviews: Indexes pointing to reviews of books, films, and other media: Book Review Digest Plus and Book Review Digest Retrospective, ChoiceReviews.onine, Reader’s Advisor Online.

Abstracts...

Abstracts are summaries of articles, books, dissertations, reports, and so on. They highlight the main points of a document so that the user can determine its relevance. Unless the original document is a dissertation or other long paper, most abstracts accompanying college papers will be fewer than 250 words. Where an abstract is located also depends on the document, but in most college papers, abstracts are placed after the title page and before the main text.

Here are the abstract databases available through the King Library:

NCJRS Abstracts Database
Library, Information Sciences & Technology Abstracts with Full Text (LIST)
Analytical Abstracts
Aluminum Industry Abstracts
RILM Abstracts of Music Literature
Linguistics & Language Behavior Abstracts
Engineered Materials Abstracts
Corrosion Abstracts
Criminal Justice Abstracts
Ceramic Abstracts/World Ceramic Abstracts
Biological Abstracts

"Any more interesting index and abstract information?"

Author, title, subject and/or keyword are common access points used to search indexes and abstracts.

For indexes, a controlled vocabulary designed by the indexer is used. This allows for more relevant results because synonyms are not a factor--the choice in search words is made for you.
Abstracts can also be searched using keywords taken from the article. This allows more freedom in searching, but you may not get as many relevant results due to choosing the "wrong" search words/terms. Keywords in abstracts are in bold type.

Databases, AKA Electronic Indexes, are replacing print indexes. They have the advantage of being current, easily accessed, frequently updated, and searchable through more than one access point. Databases may include citations, full text, or both (such as EBSCO's Academic Search Premier). Databases are leased or sold to libraries, in online or CD-ROM format, by vendors such as OCLC and EBSCO.

CD-ROM databases available through SJSU include Tiger Census Tract Street Index, Standard & Poor’s Analysts’ Handbook, and Simmons Study of Media and Markets. These (and more!) are located at the King Library, 2nd floor CD-ROM stations.

Indexes and abstracts may also be available in open access, which means that anyone can retrieve them without needing access through a subscription. Examples of open access indexes in our database listing at King Library are Find a Book with Lexiles, California Room Local History Database, and WorldCat. Check out the library site for more open access databases.

A fabulous resource for finding periodical indexes is Ulrich’s Periodical Directory.

Where?

"Where can I find the different types of indexes and abstracts in different types of libraries?"

Academic libraries are likely to offer both the general information indexes and abstracts, which are good ‘jumping off’ points for research, along with specific subject indexes and abstracts tailored to individual majors/graduate programs. For example, SJSU offers several library and information science databases relevant to MLIS students. Universities are also going to be carrying citation indexes such as Web of Science because citing other sources is so crucial to research. Special materials indexes such as Pro-Quest Dissertaions & Theses FT will be vital as well for an academic library. And literary indexes such as Literature Resource Center are included in many academic libraries as well.

A public library is more likely to have the general indexes such as the Readers Guide, plus perhaps some specific subject ones, such as PubMed and others, depending on community interests. Book and movie review indexes are often carried in print and/or electronic form by public libraries.

Special libraries and school libraries may offer what are called “Vertical File Indexes”, special materials indexes which point to items such as pamphlets, charts, posters, maps, and other nonbook materials.

"Where are indexes and abstracts found at SJSU, both online and in the library itself?"

Online (follow the links!)...

Go to http://sjlibrary.org/gateways/academic/

On the left-hand side, select:

SJSU Articles and Databases

From here, you have several options:

General Subjects—Education & Library Sciences
You get databases relevant to MLIS and Education.

A-Z Titles
Lists all the different databases available to students and faculty.

SJSU Electronic Journals Index
This tool is useful if you know the journal you want to look at, and need to see which databases offer it. The index lists all the journals carried in various databases accessible to SJSU students and faculty. For example, say you want to peruse the Reference and User Services Quarterly. You go to the electronic journals index, look under “R”, and find the title. You will also see a link to the Ulrichsweb.com entry giving information about the journal, and then a list of which databases include the journal.

Web Links by Subject
Either type in your subject of choice or choose from the menu. Also offered is an A-Z topics list of websites arranged by subjects such as Biography, Movies, Sports, and Television. The Librarians’ Internet Index categorizes by subject such as Arts & Humanities, Media, and Science with links to sites handpicked by librarians and considered reliable.

Another option from the left side of the Gateways page is to select SJSU Research Topics

From that starting point, you can go to:

Library and Information Sciences and from the left-hand side, choose Articles and Databases
This page takes you to categories for Primary Library & Information Science Databases/Business & News Databases/Book Reviews/Background & Reference Sources/Encyclopedias and Dictionaries/Other Useful Databases for Library & Information Science.

In the library...

For those wanting to consult print indexes and abstracts, the King Library carries A-Z indexes on the 2nd floor in the reference area. Here are some examples: (Call numbers in parentheses).

New York Times Index (AI21.N44)
Social Sciences Index (AI3.S62)
Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature (AI3.R48)
Book Review Index (Z1035.A1B6)
Alternative Press Index (HN1.A43)
Arts & Humanities Citation Index (AI3.A63)
Comprehensive Dissertation Index, 1861-1972 (AI3.A63)
Columbia Granger’s Index to Poetry in Anthologies (PN1022.H39 2002)

Magazines and newspapers are located on the lower level.